Agency: Cal Water rate hike should be slashed by 60 percent

People in Chico and Oroville protesting proposed California Water Service rate hikes might be encouraged that the agency representing ratepayers before the state Public Utilities Commission has recommended slashing Cal Water's proposed Marysville rate hike by more than half.

The Division of Ratepayer Advocates is calling for a 14.1 percent increase in Marysville in 2014 instead of the 34.9 percent requested by Cal Water, according to the Appeal Democrat.

The Ratepayer Advocates report recommends increases of 0.2 percent each in 2015 and 2016 compared to Cal Water's requested 0.8 percent each year.

Cal Water has also proposed increases in its Chico and Oroville districts, which have generated protests in both areas. Some people in Oroville have let their lawns die, saying it's too expensive to water them.

In Chico, Cal Water is asking for 28.8 percent in 2014, 4.7 percent in 2015 and 4.7 percent in 2016.

The proposed Oroville hikes would be 13.8 percent in 2014, 12.2 percent in 2015 and 10.8 percent in 2016.

Despite the Ratepayer Advocates report, it is likely the 2014 increase in Marysville will fall somewhere between what Cal Water is asking and what the Ratepayer Advocates recommends.

The two sides are still working on a still-to-be-made-public settlement agreement that will go before an administrative law judge next month and, if the judge approves, on to the commission.